25 Helpful Websites for Creative Writers

Need help getting your creative juices flowing? These websites for creative writers offer grammar tips, writing prompts, peer critiques and advice on getting published. Read on to learn how you can strengthen your creative writing on the Web.

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General Writing

Writer's Digest - The website for the publication Writer's Digest is a one-stop shop for creative writers. The site hosts everything from writing advice and prompts to community forums and blogs, and you don't have to be a magazine subscriber to access it.

Writing Fix - Sponsored by the Northern Nevadaa Writing Project, this site offers interactive lessons and other tools for creative writers. Specific resources include creative writing prompts, plot generators and character trait generators.

Writer's FM - Writer's FM is a radio station that was created by writers, for writers. The station broadcasts music and author interviews all day every day, as well as professional writing tips from host Karl Moore.

Teen Ink - Designed especially for teens, this site features a writing workshop forum and a general discussion forum to help young creative writers. Teens can also submit their work for publication on the Teen Ink website or magazine, or find inspiration in work by other young authors.

U.S. Copyright Office - This government website offers important copyright information for creative writers, as well as a step-by-step guide to registering your work.

Writing Prompts

The Story Starter - This website offers over one trillion randomly generated story starters for creative writers.

CreativeWritingPrompts.com - Looking for something a little less random? This site offers over 300 clever prompts to help you start putting words on paper.

Fifteen Minutes of Fiction - This site is designed for people who don't have a lot of free time to dedicate to writing but want to keep their skills sharp. Each week there is a new writing prompt to which site users can respond with a quick piece of short fiction or poetry.

Imagination Prompt Generator - The Imagination Prompt Generator from Creativity Portal automatically generates one prompt after another to get your creative juices flowing.

Bonnie's Online Story Spinner - The Online Story Spinner from Bonnie Neubauer, a writing instructor, offers millions of computer generated story prompts for creative writers. These prompts offer a little extra guidance, including a setting, a starting phrase and a few words that must be included somewhere in the story.

Writing Mechanics

The Owl - Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) is another popular go-to source for grammar guides, style tips and other resources for creative and academic writing.

Web English Teacher - This site provides an excellent section on grammar that any writer could benefit from. Topics include grammar and punctuation, parts of speech, sentence structure and mechanics.

GrammarBook.com - GrammarBook.com is another useful source for basic grammar rules and help with commonly confused words. It also offers free interactive English quizzes and resume assistance for job-hunting writers.

AutoCrit Editing Wizard - If the idea of memorizing a whole bunch of grammar rules bores you to death, you can skip it all and send your story through the AutoCrit Editing Wizard. The free trial version of this program will point out all of the errors in a short manuscript, and users can purchase unlimited access to the Wizard for a yearly fee.

Writing Forums

WritingForums.org - This bustling writing community has over 28,000 members. Forums are organized and monitored and encourage friendly community interaction and useful feedback.

Writing.com - Writing.com is an online writing community that has been operating for a decade. Users can post stories, store work and take part in other community activities. Membership is free and available to writers of all skill levels.

The Water Cooler - The Absolute Write Water Cooler is a great place to chat with other writers and learn about the creative writing craft. Membership is at 25,000 and growing daily.

About Fiction Writing Forum - The About.com Fiction Writing forum provides a place to share work, get writing tips and chat with other writers.

The Writer's Beat - This site hosts a small, but tight-knit writing community that welcomes all sorts of authors.

Getting Published

First Writer - First Writer is the ideal website for any writer who is interested in searching for magazine publishers, book publishers, agents and writing contests. The site also provides writing tips, book reviews and copyright information.

Agent Query - With the largest searchable database of literary agents on the web, Agent Query is the place to go when you're looking for representation.

Literary Marketplace - Literary Marketplace is a 50-year-old organization that serves as a directory of book publishers in the U.S. and Canada. Their website offers a database of large publishers and small presses, as well as literary, lecture and illustration agents.

Duotrope's Digest - Duotrope offers a database with over 3,425 fiction and poetry publications that can help creative writers find the right markets for their work.

Funds for Writers - This site specializes in legitimate grants and contests for writers, but also offers market listings and contest listings. Users can also sign up for three free newsletters or a paid newsletter subscription.